You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy.
—Jane Marczweski
I heard this quote recently and thought about what it means. The quotee had gone through some hard times in her life and had had cancer up to three times, but was so tenacious that she did not let her obstacles discourage her. I think this can apply to people with disabilities as well as people with terminal illnesses. Some of us don’t have the time to wait to be happy, and some of our circumstances don’t get better quickly—they might be chronic. This is also called making the best of things, and it can be hard. I admittedly don’t do a good job of it all the time. Sometimes I feel like I have the right to sulk and pout until my pain just magically goes away, but the logical part of me knows that this is a waste of time. I don’t want to spend my life miserable because I’m in pain (although some days I do feel pretty bad). I think it is okay to acknowledge that circumstances are sometimes pretty unfair. Take some time to cry, yell, ask yourself why? but after that, try to ask yourself, How can I go forward? How can I be happiest, even through this difficult situation?
I’m not saying to go through life being really active if it hurts you badly. I’m not saying to ignore your pain. I’m saying that it is good to find something you enjoy doing to help you not be entirely miserable—maybe (hopefully) even to be happy.
Unfortunately, time runs out faster than we want it to. If you refuse to do anything because of your situation, you are letting it win. Of course, this is not always true. Some conditions can cause people to be bedridden or it is advised to be inactive. In that case, you are definitely not letting your condition win; you are doing what is best for yourself. Always do what is best for you!
My point is that going through life depressed or sad is understandable. But some things aren’t going to get better, as much as we would wish them to improve. If this is the case, we might have to learn how we can function and enjoy life, even with our challenges.